Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => Fishtank Filtration and Cycling => Topic started by: BT Bob on April 23, 2018, 05:34:36 PM
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Hi folks,
I've moved out of the "Intro" page and into the Forum-proper for some advice regarding my Juwel BioFlow filter media.
Since we put the aquarium together (February) we've had the same filter media in place and (seemingly) working OK.
The filter itself consists of the following separate items (in order, bottom-to-top):
2 x bioPlus (fine) pads (replace every 9 months)
1 x bioPlus (coarse) pad (replace every 3 months)
1 x Nitrax pad (replace every 2 months)
1 x bioCarb pad (replace every month)
1 x bioPad pad (replace every week)
The only maintenance I've done so far is to rinse out (in aquarium water syphoned from the tank) the bioPad to get as much of the gunk out as possible.
The leaflet that came with the aquarium recommends the replacement intervals shown above.
I've ordered a load of replacements but just wondering if it's OK to replace the bioPad, bioCarb & Nitrax in one go, or should I stagger them and, if so, bu=y how much?
I can't find any specific guidance on the Juwel website about this so would appreciate any advice from amy Juwel users here.
TIA :)
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I used to have a Juwel Rio 125 :)
Ignore everything Juwel says.
Fine blue sponges - replace only when they go into holes or won't go back to shape after squeezing.
Coarse blue sponges - as for fine blue sponges.
Green nitrate removing sponge - doesn't actually do anything. Pretend it is a blue sponge and treat accordingly.
If you have cirax, replace when it starts to crumble.
Black carbon sponge isn't needed at all on a routine basis. Carbon gets full after a few weeks and stops working. If you really really want to run carbon full time, replace every month. Otherwise throw it away and keep a spare in the cupboard in case you ever do need it to remove medication after treating sick fish.
White pad - won't wash more than once without going into holes. Replace after one wash. But don't buy expensive Juwel pads - get a roll of filter wool (filter floss) and cut it to the same size. Much cheaper.
Manufacturers tell you to change the media to make them money. As you can see, sponges and cirax will last for years. They only need washing in old tank water. When they do start to go holey/crumble, only replace one sponge or cirax at a time, with at least a month before the next one.
The only thing that will need changing regularly is the thin white pad that sits on the top. It is first in the direction of water flow; its sole purpose is to catch bits to stop them reaching the sponges, and it clogs quickly. It is not a very good home for bacteria so if you change it every other water change firstly it never grows many bacteria and secondly it won't have time to grow many - so you won't throw many bacteria away when you change it.
PS I have found a use for old unused blue sponges. The air pump that powers the filter in the betta's tank sits on top of one to cut down vibration noise ;D
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Thanks @Sue .
Exactly the kind of detailed response I was looking for - so helpful :)
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I have the same filter, just use the sponges, the only pad I have changed is the white one.
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Thanks @kdt1
Makes sense when you see how crappy it gets and you realise ( :vcross:) it's the first one in the chain.. :)